Contents

One of the ancient silver phialae found at Èze now in the British Museum

The area surrounding Èze was first populated around 2000 BC as a commune situated near Mount Bastide, the earliest occurrence of the name "Èze" can be found in the maritime books of Antonin as a bay called the St. Laurent of Èze. A hoard of ancient Greek silver phialae dating from the 3rd Century BC was found in Èze in the late nineteenth century and is now part of the British Museum's collection,[1] the area was subsequently occupied by not only the Romans but also the Moors who held the area for approximately 80 years until they were driven out by William of Provence in 973.

By 1388 Èze fell under the jurisdiction of the House of Savoy, who built up the town as a fortified stronghold because of its proximity to Nice, the history of Èze became turbulent several times in the next few centuries as French and Turkish troops seized the village under orders from Hayreddin Barbarossa in 1543, and Louis XIV destroyed the walls surrounding the city in 1706 in the war of the Spanish succession. Finally in April 1860, Eze was designated as part of France by unanimous decision by the people of Eze.

Èze has been described as an “eagle's nest” because of its location overlooking a high cliff 427 metres (1,401 ft) above sea level on the French Mediterranean. It's so high that the light ochre church within (Notre Dame de l’Assomption built in 1764) can be seen from afar. An Egyptian cross inside the church suggests the village's ancient roots, when the Phoenicians erected a temple there to honour the goddess Isis.

Traditionally, the territory of the Principality of Monaco was considered to begin in the Èze village (outskirts of Nice), running along the Mediterranean coast to Menton, on the present Italian border.

The oldest building in the village is the Chapelle de la Sainte Croix and dates back to 1306. Members of the lay order of the White Penitents of Èze, in charge of giving assistance to plague victims, would hold their meetings there, the shape of the bell-turret is an indication that the village once belonged to the Republic of Genoa.

The small medieval village is famous for its beauty and charm, its many shops, art galleries, hotels and restaurants attract a large number of tourists and honeymooners. As a result, Èze has become dubbed by some a village-musée, a "museum village", as few residents of local origin live here, from Èze there are gorgeous views of the Mediterranean Sea.

The motto of the village is the phrase Isis Moriendo Renascor (meaning "In death I am Reborn") and its emblem is a phoenix perched on a bone.

1.
France
–
France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks

2.
Regions of France
–
France is divided into 18 administrative regions, including 13 metropolitan regions and 5 overseas regions. The current legal concept of region was adopted in 1982, the term région was officially created by the Law of Decentralisation, which also gave regions their legal status. The first direct elections for representatives took place on 16 March 1986. In 2016, the number of regions was reduced from 27 to 18 through amalgamation, in 2014, the French parliament passed a law reducing the number of metropolitan regions from 22 to 13 with effect from 1 January 2016. However, the region of Upper and Lower Normandy is simply called Normandy. Permanent names were to be proposed by the new regional councils by 1 July 2016, the legislation defining the new regions also allowed the Centre region to officially change its name to Centre-Val de Loire with effect from January 2015. Two regions, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, opted to retain their interim names, between 1982 and 2015, there were 22 regions in Metropolitan France. Before 2011, there were four regions, in 2011 Mayotte became the fifth. Regions lack separate legislative authority and therefore cannot write their own statutory law and they levy their own taxes and, in return, receive a decreasing part of their budget from the central government, which gives them a portion of the taxes it levies. They also have considerable budgets managed by a council made up of representatives voted into office in regional elections. A regions primary responsibility is to build and furnish high schools, in March 2004, the French central government unveiled a controversial plan to transfer regulation of certain categories of non-teaching school staff to the regional authorities. Critics of this plan contended that tax revenue was insufficient to pay for the costs. In addition, regions have considerable power over infrastructural spending, e. g. education, public transit, universities and research. This has meant that the heads of regions such as Île-de-France or Rhône-Alpes can be high-profile positions. Number of regions controlled by each coalition since 1986, Overseas region is a recent designation, given to the overseas departments that have similar powers to those of the regions of metropolitan France. Radio France Internationale in English Overseas regions Ministère de lOutre-Mer some explanations about the past and current developments of DOMs and TOMs

Regions of France

3.
Alpes-Maritimes
–
Alpes-Maritimes is a department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region in the extreme southeast corner of France. The inhabitants of the department are called Maralpins, but are referred to as Azuréens. The Alpes-Maritimes department is surrounded by the departments of Var in the southwest, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in the north-west, Italy, and it surrounds the Principality of Monaco on the west, north, and east. The highest point of the department is the Cime du Gélas on the Franco-Italian border which dominates the Vallée des Merveilles further east, in fact the summit of Monte Argentera is certainly higher at 3297 m above sea level but it is located in Italian territory. There is also Mount Mounier which dominates the south of the vast Dôme de Barrot which is formed of a mass of more than 900 m thick red mudstones deeply indented by the gorges of Daluis and Cians. Except in winter, four passes allow passage to the north of the Mercantour/Argentera mountain range whose imposing 62 km long barrier covered in snow which is visible from the coast. From the west the Route des Grandes Alpes enters the Cayolle Pass first on the way to the Alps, then the route follows the Col de la Bonette - the highest pass in Europe at 2715 m - to connect to the valley of the Tinée then the Ubaye. Further east, the Lombard pass above Isola 2000 allows access to the shrine of Saint-Anne de Vinadio in Italy, finally, at its eastern end, the Col de Tende links with Cuneo in Italy. The rivers in order are, It is the climate that made the Côte dAzur famous. The coastal area has a Mediterranean climate, towards the interior, especially in the north, a mountain climate. One of the attractions of the department is its level of sunshine,300 days per year, despite this the department is also the most stormy of France with an average of 70 to 110 thunderstorm days per year. Alpes-Maritimes is divided into 2 arrondissements, the Grasse and the Nice,27 cantons and 163 communes, in 2002 there were 14 intercommunalities. At its greatest extent in AD297, the province reached north to Digne, a first French département of Alpes-Maritimes existed in the same area from 1793 to 1814. Its boundaries differed from those of the department, however. In 1793 Alpes-Maritimes included Monaco and San Remo, but not Grasse which was part of the départment of Var. Sanremo, cantons, Sanremo, Bordighera, Dolceacqua, Pigna, Taggia, Triora, Puget-Théniers, cantons, Puget-Théniers, Beuil, Gilette, Guillaumes, Roquesteron, Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée and Villars-sur-Var. Its population in 1812 was 131,266, and its area was 322,674 hectares, the department was reconstituted in 1860 when the county of Nice was annexed by France. It included the county of Nice as well as the independent towns of Menton and Roquebrune

Alpes-Maritimes
–
Nice & Côte d'Azur
Alpes-Maritimes
–
Sign welcoming visitors to Alpes-Maritimes.
Alpes-Maritimes
–
Belvédère in the Vesubie valley, one of the many villages perched in the Alpes-Maritime.
Alpes-Maritimes
–
Geography of the Department of Alpes-Maritimes

4.
Daylight saving time
–
Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year

5.
Central European Summer Time
–
It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone

Central European Summer Time
–
light blue

6.
Italian language
–
By most measures, Italian, together with Sardinian, is the closest to Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is a language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City. Italian is spoken by minorities in places such as France, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Crimea and Tunisia and by large expatriate communities in the Americas. Many speakers are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages, Italian is the fourth most studied language in the world. Italian is a major European language, being one of the languages of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It is the third most widely spoken first language in the European Union with 65 million native speakers, including Italian speakers in non-EU European countries and on other continents, the total number of speakers is around 85 million. Italian is the working language of the Holy See, serving as the lingua franca in the Roman Catholic hierarchy as well as the official language of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Italian is known as the language of music because of its use in musical terminology and its influence is also widespread in the arts and in the luxury goods market. Italian has been reported as the fourth or fifth most frequently taught foreign language in the world, Italian was adopted by the state after the Unification of Italy, having previously been a literary language based on Tuscan as spoken mostly by the upper class of Florentine society. Its development was influenced by other Italian languages and to some minor extent. Its vowels are the second-closest to Latin after Sardinian, unlike most other Romance languages, Italian retains Latins contrast between short and long consonants. As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive, however, Italian as a language used in Italy and some surrounding regions has a longer history. What would come to be thought of as Italian was first formalized in the early 14th century through the works of Tuscan writer Dante Alighieri, written in his native Florentine. Dante is still credited with standardizing the Italian language, and thus the dialect of Florence became the basis for what would become the language of Italy. Italian was also one of the recognised languages in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy has always had a dialect for each city, because the cities. Those dialects now have considerable variety, as Tuscan-derived Italian came to be used throughout Italy, features of local speech were naturally adopted, producing various versions of Regional Italian. Even in the case of Northern Italian languages, however, scholars are not to overstate the effects of outsiders on the natural indigenous developments of the languages

Italian language
–
Dante Alighieri (above) and Petrarch (below) were influential in establishing their Tuscan dialect as the most prominent literary language in all of Italy in the Late Middle Ages
Italian language
–
The geographic distribution of the Italian language in the world: large Italian-speaking communities are shown in green; light blue indicates areas where the Italian language was used officially during the Italian colonial period.
Italian language
Italian language
–
Pietro Bembo was an influential figure in the development of the Italian language from the Tuscan dialect, as a literary medium, codifying the language for standard modern usage

7.
Occitan language
–
Occitan, also known as lenga dòc by its native speakers, is a Romance language. It is spoken in southern France, Italys Occitan Valleys, Monaco, and Spains Val dAran, collectively, Occitan is also spoken in the linguistic enclave of Guardia Piemontese. However, there is controversy about the unity of the language, others include Catalan in this family, as the distance between this language and some Occitan dialects is similar to the distance among different Occitan dialects. In fact, Catalan was considered an Occitan dialect until the end of the 19th century, today, Occitan is an official language in Catalonia, where a subdialect of Gascon known as Aranese is spoken in the Val dAran. Since September 2010, the Parliament of Catalonia has considered Aranese Occitan to be the preferred language for use in the Val dAran. Unlike other Romance languages such as French or Spanish, there is no written standard language called Occitan. Instead, there are competing norms for writing Occitan, some of which attempt to be pan-dialectal, There are also significant lexical differences, where some dialects have words cognate with French, and others have Catalan and Spanish cognates. Nonetheless, there is a significant amount of mutual intelligibility, the long-term survival of Occitan is in grave doubt. According to the UNESCO Red Book of Endangered Languages, four of the six dialects of Occitan are considered severely endangered. The name Occitan comes from lenga dòc, òc being the Occitan word for yes and this was not, of course, the only defining characteristic of each group. The word òc came from Vulgar Latin hoc, while oïl originated from Latin hoc illud, Old Catalan, and now the Catalan of Northern Catalonia also have hoc. Other Romance languages derive their word for yes from the Latin sic, thus, etc. such as Spanish sí, Eastern Lombard sé, Sicilian and Italian sì, or Portuguese sim. French uses si to answer yes in response to questions that are asked in the negative sense, the name Occitan is sometimes considered a neologism, however, it was attested around 1300 as occitanus, a crossing of oc and aquitanus. For many centuries, the Occitan dialects were referred to as Limousin or Provençal, after Frédéric Mistrals Félibrige movement in the 19th century, Provençal achieved the greatest literary recognition and so became the most popular term for Occitan. The term first came into fashion in Italy, currently, linguists use the terms Provençal and Limousin strictly to refer to specific varieties within Occitania, keeping the name Occitan for the language as a whole. Many non-specialists, however, continue to refer to the language as Provençal, NO·L LI TOLRÀ NO·L LI DEVEDARÀ NI NO LEN DECEBRÀ. Nec societatem non AURÀ, si per castellum recuperare NON O FA, et si recuperare potuerit in potestate Froterio et Raimundo LO TORNARÀ, carolingian litanies, both written and sung in Latin, were answered to in Old Occitan by the audience. Occitan was the vehicle for the poetry of the medieval troubadours and trobairises, At that time

Occitan language
–
Main cities of Occitania, written in the Occitan language
Occitan language
–
Occitan
Occitan language
–
"Speak French, Be Clean" written across the wall of a Southern French school
Occitan language
–
This bilingual street sign in Toulouse, like many such signs found in historical parts of the city, is maintained primarily for its antique charm; it is typical of what little remains of the lenga d'òc in southern French cities.

8.
Nice
–
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France and the capital of the Alpes-Maritimes département. The urban area of Nice extends beyond the city limits. Nice is about 13 kilometres from the principality of Monaco, the city is nicknamed Nice la Belle, which means Nice the Beautiful, which is also the title of the unofficial anthem of Nice, written by Menica Rondelly in 1912. The area of todays Nice contains Terra Amata, a site which displays evidence of a very early use of fire. Around 350 BC, Greeks of Marseille founded a permanent settlement and called it Nikaia, after Nike, through the ages, the town has changed hands many times. Its strategic location and port significantly contributed to its maritime strength, for centuries it was a dominion of Savoy, and was then part of France between 1792 and 1815, when it was returned to Piedmont-Sardinia until its re-annexation by France in 1860. The citys main seaside promenade, the Promenade des Anglais owes its name to visitors to the resort, for decades now, the picturesque Nicean surroundings have attracted not only those in search of relaxation, but also those seeking inspiration. The clear air and soft light have particularly appealed to some of Western cultures most outstanding painters, such as Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Niki de Saint Phalle and Arman. Their work is commemorated in many of the museums, including Musée Marc Chagall, Musée Matisse. Nice has the second largest hotel capacity in the country and it is one of its most visited cities and it also has the third busiest airport in France, after the two main Parisian ones. It is the capital city of the County of Nice. Nice was probably founded around 350 BC by the Greeks of Massalia, the ruins of Cemenelum are in Cimiez, now a district of Nice. In the 7th century, Nice joined the Genoese League formed by the towns of Liguria. In 729 the city repulsed the Saracens, but in 859 and again in 880 the Saracens pillaged and burned it, during the Middle Ages, Nice participated in the wars and history of Italy. As an ally of Pisa it was the enemy of Genoa, during the 13th and 14th centuries the city fell more than once into the hands of the Counts of Provence, but it regained its independence even though related to Genoa. The medieval city walls surrounded the Old Town, the landward side was protected by the River Paillon, which was later covered over and is now the tram route towards the Acropolis. The east side of the town was protected by fortifications on Castle Hill, another river flowed into the port on the east side of Castle Hill. Engravings suggest that the area was also defended by walls

Nice
–
Nice Port
Nice
–
Nice in the time of the Roman Empire.
Nice
–
The Tower of Saint François
Nice
–
Nice in 1624

9.
Moors
–
Moors are not a distinct or self-defined people, and mainstream scholars observed in 1911 that The term Moors has no real ethnological value. Medieval and early modern Europeans variously applied the name to Arabs, Berber North Africans and Muslim Europeans. The term has also used in Europe in a broader, somewhat derogatory sense to refer to Muslims in general, especially those of Arab or Berber descent. During the colonial era, the Portuguese introduced the names Ceylon Moors and Indian Moors in Sri Lanka, in 711, troops mostly formed by Moors from North Africa led the Umayyad conquest of Hispania. The Iberian peninsula then came to be known in classical Arabic as Al-Andalus, in 827, the Moors occupied Mazara on Sicily, developing it as a port. They eventually consolidated the rest of the island and some of southern Italy, in 1224 the Muslims were expelled from Sicily to the settlement of Lucera, which was destroyed by European Christians in 1300. The fall of Granada in 1492 marked the end of Muslim rule in Iberia, the Berber tribes of the region were noted in Classical literature as Mauri, which was subsequently rendered as Moors in English and in related variations in other European languages. Mauri is recorded as the name by Strabo in the early 1st century. This appellation was also adopted into Latin, whereas the Greek name for the tribe was Maurusii, in medieval Romance languages, variations of the Latin word for the Moors developed different applications and connotations. During the context of the Crusades and the Reconquista, the term Moors included the suggestion of infidels. Apart from these associations and context, Moor and Moorish designate a specific ethnic group speaking Hassaniya Arabic. They inhabit Mauritania and parts of Algeria, Western Sahara, Tunisia, Morocco, Niger, in Niger and Mali, these peoples are also known as the Azawagh Arabs, after the Azawagh region of the Sahara. Some authors have pointed out that in modern colloquial Spanish use of the term moro is derogatory for Moroccans in particular, however, this designation has gained more acceptance in the south. In the Philippines, a former Spanish colony, many modern Filipinos call the large, local Muslim minority concentrated in Mindanao, the word is a catch-all term, as Moro may come from several distinct ethno-linguistic groups such as the Maranao people. The term was introduced by Spanish colonisers, and has since been appropriated by Filipino Muslims as an endonym, moreno can mean dark-skinned in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and the Philippines. Also in Spanish, morapio is a name for wine, especially that which has not been baptized or mixed with water. Among Spanish speakers, moro came to have a broader meaning, Moro refers to all things dark, as in Moor, moreno, etc. It was also used as a nickname, for instance, the Milanese Duke Ludovico Sforza was called Il Moro because of his dark complexion, in Portugal, mouro may refer to supernatural beings known as enchanted moura, where moor implies alien and non-Christian

Moors
–
Depiction of Moors in Iberia. Taken from the Tale of Bayad and Riyad
Moors
–
Depiction of three Moorish knights found on Alhambra 's Ladies Tower
Moors
–
Castillian ambassadors attempting to convince Moorish Almohad king Abu Hafs Umar al-Murtada to join their alliance (contemporary depiction from The Cantigas de Santa María)
Moors
–
Reconstruction of costumes of Moorish nobility from a German book published in 1880

10.
Ottoman Empire
–
After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans the Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror, at the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries. With Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, while the empire was once thought to have entered a period of decline following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, this view is no longer supported by the majority of academic historians. The empire continued to maintain a flexible and strong economy, society, however, during a long period of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman military system fell behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian Empires. While the Empire was able to hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent. Starting before World War I, but growing increasingly common and violent during it, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks. The word Ottoman is an anglicisation of the name of Osman I. Osmans name in turn was the Turkish form of the Arabic name ʿUthmān, in Ottoman Turkish, the empire was referred to as Devlet-i ʿAlīye-yi ʿOsmānīye, or alternatively ʿOsmānlı Devleti. In Modern Turkish, it is known as Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı Devleti, the Turkish word for Ottoman originally referred to the tribal followers of Osman in the fourteenth century, and subsequently came to be used to refer to the empires military-administrative elite. In contrast, the term Turk was used to refer to the Anatolian peasant and tribal population, the term Rūmī was also used to refer to Turkish-speakers by the other Muslim peoples of the empire and beyond. In Western Europe, the two names Ottoman Empire and Turkey were often used interchangeably, with Turkey being increasingly favored both in formal and informal situations and this dichotomy was officially ended in 1920–23, when the newly established Ankara-based Turkish government chose Turkey as the sole official name. Most scholarly historians avoid the terms Turkey, Turks, and Turkish when referring to the Ottomans, as the power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum declined in the 13th century, Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent Turkish principalities known as the Anatolian Beyliks. One of these beyliks, in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish tribal leader Osman, osmans early followers consisted both of Turkish tribal groups and Byzantine renegades, many but not all converts to Islam. Osman extended the control of his principality by conquering Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River and it is not well understood how the early Ottomans came to dominate their neighbours, due to the scarcity of the sources which survive from this period. One school of thought which was popular during the twentieth century argued that the Ottomans achieved success by rallying religious warriors to fight for them in the name of Islam, in the century after the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule began to extend over Anatolia and the Balkans. Osmans son, Orhan, captured the northwestern Anatolian city of Bursa in 1326 and this conquest meant the loss of Byzantine control over northwestern Anatolia. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, the Ottoman victory at Kosovo in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe

11.
Hayreddin Barbarossa
–
Hayreddin Barbarossa, or Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha, born Khizr or Khidr, was an Ottoman admiral of the fleet who was born in the island of Lesbos and died in Constantinople, the Ottoman capital. Barbarossas naval victories secured Ottoman dominance over the Mediterranean during the mid 16th century, Hayreddin was an honorary name given to him by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. He became known as Barbarossa in Europe, a name he inherited from his elder brother Oruç Reis after Oruç was killed in a battle with the Spanish in Algeria. Oruç was also known as Baba Oruç, which sounded like Barbarossa to the Europeans, and since Oruç did have a red beard, in a process of linguistic reborrowing, the nickname then stuck back to Hayreddins native Turkish name, in the form Barbaros. His mother was a widow of a Greek Orthodox priest and his parents were married and had two daughters and four sons, Ishak, Oruç, Khizr and Ilyas. Yakup took part in the Ottoman conquest of Lesbos in 1462 from the Genoese Gattilusio dynasty and he became an established potter and purchased a boat to trade his products. The four sons helped their father with his business, but not much is known about the daughters, at first Oruç helped with the boat, while Khizr helped with pottery. All four brothers became seamen, engaged in affairs and international sea trade. The first brother to become involved in seamanship was Oruç, who was joined by his brother Ilyas, later, obtaining his own ship, Khizr also began his career at sea. The brothers initially worked as sailors, but then turned privateers in the Mediterranean to counteract the privateering of the Knights Hospitaller who were based in the island of Rhodes, Oruç and Ilyas operated in the Levant, between Anatolia, Syria, and Egypt. Khizr operated in the Aegean Sea and based his operations mostly in Thessaloniki, Ishak, the eldest, remained on Mytilene and was involved with the financial affairs of the family business. Oruç was a very successful seaman and he also learned to speak Italian, Spanish, French, Greek and Arabic in the early years of his career. While returning from an expedition in Tripoli, Lebanon, with his younger brother Ilyas. Ilyas was killed in the fight, and Oruç was wounded and their fathers boat was captured, and Oruç was taken as a prisoner and detained in the Knights castle at Bodrum for nearly three years. Upon learning the location of his brother, Khizr went to Bodrum, on his way back to Lesbos, he stopped at Euboea and captured three galleons and another ship. After passing the winter in Cairo, he set sail from Alexandria and frequently operated along the coasts of Liguria, in 1503, Oruç managed to seize three more ships and made the island of Djerba his new base, thus moving his operations to the Western Mediterranean. They were granted this right with the condition of leaving one-third of their gains to the sultan, Oruç, in command of small galliots, captured two much larger Papal galleys near the island of Elba. Later, near Lipari, the two brothers captured a Sicilian warship, the Cavalleria, with 380 Spanish soldiers and 60 Spanish knights from Aragon on board, in 1505, they raided the coasts of Calabria

Hayreddin Barbarossa
–
Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha
Hayreddin Barbarossa
–
Castle of St. Peter of the Knights Hospitaller in Bodrum, where Oruç was held captive for nearly three years until he was saved by his younger brother Khizr.
Hayreddin Barbarossa
–
Oruç Reis was Hayreddin Barbarossa's elder brother.
Hayreddin Barbarossa
–
Western depiction of Hayreddin Barbarossa

12.
War of the Spanish succession
–
The War of the Spanish Succession was a major European conflict of the early 18th century, triggered by the death in 1700 of the last Habsburg King of Spain, the infirm and childless Charles II. Charles II had ruled over a vast global empire, and the question of who would succeed him had long troubled the governments of Europe, the English, the Dutch and the Austrians formally declared war in May 1702. By 1708, the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy had secured victory in the Spanish Netherlands and in Italy, France faced invasion and ruin, but Allied unity broke first. With the Grand Alliance defeated in Spain and with its casualties mounting and aims diverging, French and British ministers prepared the groundwork for a peace conference, and in 1712 Britain ceased combat operations. The Dutch, Austrians, and German states fought on to strengthen their own negotiating position, the Treaty of Utrecht and the Treaty of Rastatt partitioned the Spanish empire between the major and minor powers. The European balance of power was assured, in the late 1690s the declining health of King Charles II of Spain brought to a head the problem of his succession, a problem which had underlain much of European diplomacy for several decades. The empire was in decline, but remained the largest of the European overseas empires, unlike the French crown, the Spanish crowns could all be inherited by, or through, a female in default of a male line. The next in line after Charles II, therefore, were his two sisters, Maria Theresa, the elder, and Margaret Theresa, the younger, Maria Theresa had married Louis XIV in 1660 and by him she had a son, Louis, Dauphin of France. The testament of her father, Philip IV, reiterated this waiver and bequeathed the reversion of the whole of the Spanish dominions to his younger daughter, Margaret Theresa. However the French, using in part the excuse that the dowry promised Maria Theresa was never paid, nor was it clear whether a princess could waive the rights of her unborn children. Leopold I married Margaret Theresa in 1666, at her death in 1673 she left one living heir, Maria Antonia, who in 1685 married Max Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria. Shortly before her death in 1692, she gave birth to a son, if he chose, Louis XIV could attempt to assert his will on Spain by force of arms, but the Nine Years War had been an immense drain on Frances resources. To seek a solution and gain support, Louis XIV turned to his long-standing rival William of Orange. England and the Dutch Republic had their own commercial, strategic and political interests within the Spanish empire, however, the Maritime Powers were in a weakened state and both had reduced their forces at the conclusion of the Nine Years War. Louis XIV and William III, therefore, sought to solve the problem of the Spanish inheritance through negotiation, based on the principle of partition, to take effect after the death of Charles II. However, the bulk of the empire – most of peninsular Spain, the Spanish Netherlands, Sardinia, the Spanish Empire was now divided between the three surviving candidates. By this new treaty Archduke Charles would receive most of Spain, the Spanish Netherlands, Sardinia, and the overseas empire. For Leopold I, however, control of Spain and its empire was less important than Italy

War of the Spanish succession
–
Philip V of Spain and the Duke of Vendôme pictured after the victory at the 1710 Battle of Villaviciosa.
War of the Spanish succession
–
Portrait of Louis XIV (1638–1715). Oil by Hyacinthe Rigaud c. 1701. The War of the Spanish Succession was Louis XIV's last.
War of the Spanish succession
–
Portrait of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (1640–1705). Unknown.
War of the Spanish succession
–
Charles II King of Spain (1665–1700). Anonymous. His death triggered the War of the Spanish Succession.

13.
Mediterranean
–
The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water. The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning inland or in the middle of land and it covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km2, but its connection to the Atlantic is only 14 km wide. The Strait of Gibraltar is a strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar. In oceanography, it is called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere. The Mediterranean Sea has a depth of 1,500 m. The sea is bordered on the north by Europe, the east by Asia and it is located between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 6° W and 36° E. Its west-east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, the seas average north-south length, from Croatia’s southern shore to Libya, is approximately 800 km. The Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of Marmara, has an area of approximately 2,510,000 square km. The sea was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade, the history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. In addition, the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri, the term Mediterranean derives from the Latin word mediterraneus, meaning amid the earth or between land, as it is between the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. The Ancient Greek name Mesogeios, is similarly from μέσο, between + γη, land, earth) and it can be compared with the Ancient Greek name Mesopotamia, meaning between rivers. The Mediterranean Sea has historically had several names, for example, the Carthaginians called it the Syrian Sea and latter Romans commonly called it Mare Nostrum, and occasionally Mare Internum. Another name was the Sea of the Philistines, from the people inhabiting a large portion of its shores near the Israelites, the sea is also called the Great Sea in the General Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer. In Ottoman Turkish, it has also been called Bahr-i Sefid, in Modern Hebrew, it has been called HaYam HaTikhon, the Middle Sea, reflecting the Seas name in ancient Greek, Latin, and modern languages in both Europe and the Middle East. Similarly, in Modern Arabic, it is known as al-Baḥr al-Mutawassiṭ, in Turkish, it is known as Akdeniz, the White Sea since among Turks the white colour represents the west. Several ancient civilisations were located around the Mediterranean shores, and were influenced by their proximity to the sea. It provided routes for trade, colonisation, and war, as well as food for numerous communities throughout the ages, due to the shared climate, geology, and access to the sea, cultures centered on the Mediterranean tended to have some extent of intertwined culture and history. Two of the most notable Mediterranean civilisations in classical antiquity were the Greek city states, later, when Augustus founded the Roman Empire, the Romans referred to the Mediterranean as Mare Nostrum

Mediterranean
–
Circa the 6th century BCE: In ancient times the Mediterranean provided sources of food and local commerce and direct routes for trade and communications, colonisation, and war. Numerous cities and colonies were situated at its shores or within the basin: Greek (red) and Phoenician (yellow) colonies in antiquity; and other cities (grey), including the provincial "Rom".
Mediterranean
–
Map of the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean
–
With its highly indented coastline and large number of islands, Greece has the longest Mediterranean coastline.
Mediterranean
–
The Battle of Lepanto, 1571, ended in victory for the European Holy League against the Ottoman Turks.

14.
Ankh
–
The ankh, also known as crux ansata is an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic ideograph with the meaning life. The Egyptian gods are often portrayed carrying it by its loop, or bearing one in each hand, the ankh appears in hand or in proximity of almost every deity in the Egyptian pantheon. The ankh symbol was so prevalent that it has found in digs as far as Mesopotamia and Persia. The symbol became popular in New Age mysticism in the 1960s, unicode has two characters encoding the symbol, U+2625 ☥ in the Miscellaneous Symbols block and U+132F9

15.
Phoenicians
–
The enterprising, sea-based Phoenician civilization spread across the Mediterranean between 1500 BC and 300 BC. Their civilization was organized in city-states, similar to those of Ancient Greece, perhaps the most notable of which were Tyre, Sidon, Arvad, Berytus and Carthage. Each city-state was an independent unit, and it is uncertain to what extent the Phoenicians viewed themselves as a single nationality. In terms of archaeology, language, lifestyle, and religion there was little to set the Phoenicians apart as markedly different from other Semitic Canaanites. The Phoenicians were the first state-level society to make use of alphabets. By their maritime trade, the Phoenicians spread the use of the alphabet to Anatolia, North Africa, and Europe, where it was adopted by the Greeks, the name Phoenicians, like Latin Poenī, comes from Greek Φοίνικες. The word φοῖνιξ phoînix meant variably Phoenician person, Tyrian purple, the word may be derived from φοινός phoinós blood red, itself possibly related to φόνος phónos murder. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin of the ethnonym, the oldest attested form of the word in Greek may be the Mycenaean po-ni-ki-jo, po-ni-ki, possibly borrowed from Ancient Egyptian fnḫw Asiatics, Semites, although this derivation is disputed. The folk-etymological association of Φοινίκη with φοῖνιξ mirrors that in Akkadian which tied kinaḫni, the land was natively known as knʿn and its people as the knʿny. In the Amarna tablets of the 14th century BC, people from the region called themselves Kenaani or Kinaani, the ethnonym survived in North Africa until the 4th century AD. Herodotus account refers to the myths of Io and Europa, according to the Persians best informed in history, the Phoenicians began the quarrel. The Greek historian Strabo believed that the Phoenicians originated from Bahrain, Herodotus also believed that the homeland of the Phoenicians was Bahrain. The people of Tyre in South Lebanon in particular have long maintained Persian Gulf origins, however, there is little evidence of occupation at all in Bahrain during the time when such migration had supposedly taken place. Canaanite culture apparently developed in situ from the earlier Ghassulian chalcolithic culture, Byblos is attested as an archaeological site from the Early Bronze Age. The Late Bronze Age state of Ugarit is considered quintessentially Canaanite archaeologically, fernand Braudel remarked in The Perspective of the World that Phoenicia was an early example of a world-economy surrounded by empires. The high point of Phoenician culture and sea power is usually placed c, archaeological evidence consistent with this understanding has been difficult to identify. A unique concentration in Phoenicia of silver hoards dated between 1200 and 800 BC, however, contains hacksilver with lead isotope ratios matching ores in Sardinia and Spain. This metallic evidence agrees with the memory of a western Mediterranean Tarshish that supplied Solomon with silver via Phoenicia

Phoenicians
–
Sarcophagus of Eshmunazor II, Phoenician King of Sidon found near Sidon, in southern Lebanon
Phoenicians
–
Map of Phoenicia and its Mediterranean trade routes
Phoenicians
–
Assyrian warship (probably built by Phoenicians) with two rows of oars, relief from Nineveh, c. 700 BC
Phoenicians
–
A naval action during the siege of Tyre (350 BC). Drawing by André Castaigne, 1888–1889.

16.
Isis
–
Isis is a goddess from the polytheistic pantheon of Egypt. She was first worshiped in ancient Egyptian religion, and later her worship spread throughout the Roman Empire, Isis was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the patroness of nature and magic. She was the friend of slaves, sinners, artisans and the downtrodden, Isis is often depicted as the mother of Horus, the falcon-headed deity associated with king and kingship. Isis is also known as protector of the dead and goddess of children, as the personification of the throne, she was an important representation of the pharaohs power. The pharaoh was depicted as her child, who sat on the throne she provided. Her cult was popular throughout Egypt, but her most important temples were at Behbeit El Hagar in the Nile delta, and, beginning in the reign with Nectanebo I, on the island of Philae in Upper Egypt. In the typical form of her myth, Isis was the first daughter of Geb, god of the Earth, and Nut, goddess of the Sky and she married her brother, Osiris, and she conceived Horus with him. Isis was instrumental in the resurrection of Osiris when he was murdered by Set, using her magical skills, she restored his body to life after having gathered the body parts that had been strewn about the earth by Set. This myth became very important during the Greco-Roman period, for example, it was believed that the Nile River flooded every year because of the tears of sorrow which Isis wept for Osiris. Osiriss death and rebirth was relived each year through rituals, the worship of Isis eventually spread throughout the Greco-Roman world, continuing until the suppression of paganism in the Christian era. The popular motif of Isis suckling her son Horus, however, the Greek name version of Isis is close to her original, Egyptian name spelling. Isis name was written with the signs of a throne seat. The grammar, spelling and used signs of Isis name never changed during time in any way, however, the symbolic and metaphoric meaning of Isis name remains unclear. The throne seat sign in her name might point to a role as a goddess of kingship. Thus, her name could mean she of the kings throne, but all other Egyptian deities have names that point to clear cosmological or nature elemental roles, thus the name of Isis shouldnt be connected to the king himself. The throne seat symbol might alternatively point to a meaning as throne-mother of the gods and this in turn would supply a very old existence of Isis, long before her first mentioning during the late Old Kingdom, but this hypothesis remains unproven. A third possible meaning might be hidden in the egg-symbol, that was used in Isis name. The egg-symbol always represented motherhood, implying a role of Isis

17.
Menton
–
Menton is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region in southeastern France. Situated on the French Riviera, along the Franco-Italian border, it is nicknamed perle de la France. The Menton area has been inhabited since the era, and is the site of the original Grimaldi Man find of early modern humans, as well as remains of Neanderthals. In Roman times, the Via Julia Augusta, a road connecting Placentia with Arelates passed through Menton, running along the Rue Longue in the old town. The first major settlement occurred during the 11th century CE, when the Count of Ventimiglia constructed the Château de Puypin on the Pépin hill, north, Menton was thus incorporated into the Republic of Genoa. The first mention of Menton dates from 21 July 1262, in the treaty between Charles of Anjou and Genoa. Its position on the border between the Angevin-ruled Provence and the Republic of Genoa, which at the time claimed Monaco as its western limit, acquired in 1346 by Charles Grimaldi, Lord of Monaco, Menton was ruled by the Princes of Monaco until the French Revolution. Annexed during the Revolution, Menton remained part of France through the First Empire and it belonged to the district of Sanremo in the department of Alpes-Maritimes, which at the time included Monaco and Sanremo. In 1814, Menton was included in a reconstituted principality of Monaco which, after Napoleons Hundred Days in 1815, the Princes of Monaco were obliged to do homage to the King for Menton, although not for Monaco itself. In 1848, Menton, along with its neighbour Roquebrune, seceded from Monaco, due at least in part to a tax imposed on lemon exports. The county of Nice was thus annexed to France that June, and Napoleon III paid 4 million francs in compensation to the prince of Monaco, by the end of the 19th century, tourism was an important factor in Mentons growth. The town was popular with English and Russian aristocrats who built many of the hotels, villas. Many of these hotels and palaces were pressed into service as hospitals during World War I to allow injured troops to recuperate in a pleasant climate, Menton was the only sizable settlement captured by Italy during its invasion of France in June 1940. Following the armistice of June 22,1940, two-thirds of the territory of the commune was annexed by Italy as terra irredenta, the annexation lasted until 8 September 1943. Although officially returned to Vichy France, Menton was in fact occupied by Nazi Germany until its liberation by American and Canadian troops of the First Special Service Force on 8 September 1944. Menton, nicknamed the Pearl of France, is located on the Mediterranean Sea at the Franco-Italian border, the fishing industry was devastated in the 1980s and 1990s when a combination of overfishing and hypoxia in the bay. At the time, the devastation was attributed to the dubiously nicknamed killer algae Caulerpa taxifolia spread throughout the coastal sea floor. Menton has got a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, frosts are extremely rare but occasionally occur every few year

Menton
–
The harbour of Menton, with the basilica of Saint-Michel-Archange beyond, viewed from the Quai Napoléon III
Menton
–
Menton, as part of Monaco, was the extreme western area of the Republic of Genoa (green color) in 1664.
Menton
–
Sailboats in Menton harbor, photograph by Jean Gilletta early 1900s
Menton
–
The port and the old part of town.

18.
French Riviera
–
The Côte dAzur, often known in English as the French Riviera, is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco. There is no boundary, but it is usually considered to extend from the Italian border in the east to Saint-Tropez, Hyères, Toulon. This coastline was one of the first modern resort areas and it began as a winter health resort for the British upper class at the end of the 18th century. In the summer, it played home to many members of the Rothschild family. After World War II, it became a popular tourist destination and convention site, many celebrities, such as Elton John and Brigitte Bardot, have homes in the region. Officially, the Côte dAzur is home to 163 nationalities with 83,962 foreign residents and its largest city is Nice, which has a population of 347,060. The city is the center of a communauté urbaine – Nice-Côte dAzur – bringing together 24 communes, Nice is home to Nice Côte dAzur Airport, Frances third-busiest airport, which is on an area of partially reclaimed coastal land at the western end of the Promenade des Anglais. A second airport at Mandelieu was once the commercial airport. The A8 autoroute runs through the region, as does the old main road known as the Route nationale 7. Trains serve the region and inland to Grasse, with the TGV Sud Est service reaching Nice-Ville station in five. The French Riviera has a population of more than two million. The region has 35,000 students, of whom 25 percent are working toward a doctorate, the French Riviera is a major yachting and cruising area with several marinas along its coast. As a tourist center, French Riviera benefits from 310 to 330 days of sunshine per year,115 kilometres of coastline, the name Côte dAzur was given to the coast by the writer Stéphen Liégeard in his book, La Côte d’azur, published in December 1887. Liégeard was born in Dijon, in the French department of Côte-dOr, the term French Riviera is typical of English use. It was built by analogy with the term Italian Riviera, which extends east of the French Riviera. As early as the 19th century, the British referred to the region as the Riviera or the French Riviera, usually referring to the part of the coast. Originally, riviera is an Italian noun which means coastline, in Occitan and French, the only usual names are Còsta dAzur in Occitan and Côte dAzur in French. A name like French Riviera is unusual and sounds odd, it could work as a word-to-word translation of the British point of view

French Riviera
–
The lighthouse of Nice, on the French Riviera
French Riviera
–
Map showing the extent of the Côte d'Azur.
French Riviera
–
View of Port Hercule, Monaco
French Riviera
–
The Old Town district of Menton, which is the last town on the Côte d'Azur before the Italian frontier.

19.
Succulents
–
The word succulent comes from the Latin word sucus, meaning juice, or sap. Succulent plants may store water in various structures, such as leaves, some definitions also include roots, so that geophytes that survive unfavorable periods by dying back to underground storage organs may be regarded as succulents. In horticultural use, the term succulent is often used in a way which excludes plants that botanists would regard as succulents, Succulents are often grown as ornamental plants because of their striking and unusual appearance. Many plant families have multiple succulents found within them, in some families, such as Aizoaceae, Cactaceae, and Crassulaceae, most species are succulents. The habitats of these water preserving plants are often in areas with high temperatures, Succulents have the ability to thrive on limited water sources, such as mist and dew, which makes them equipped to survive in an ecosystem which contains scarce water sources. A general definition of succulents is that they are drought resistant plants in which the leaves, other sources exclude roots as in the definition a plant with thick, fleshy and swollen stems and/or leaves, adapted to dry environments. This difference affects the relationship between succulents and geophytes – plants that survive unfavorable seasons as a bud on an underground organ. These underground organs, such as bulbs, corms and tubers, are fleshy with water-storing tissues. Thus if roots are included in the definition, many geophytes would be classed as succulents, plants adapted to living in dry environments such as succulents are termed xerophytes. Nor are all succulents xerophytes, since plants like Crassula helmsii are both succulent and aquatic and those who grow succulents as a hobby use the term in a different way to botanists. In horticultural use, the term succulent regularly excludes cacti, however, in botanical terminology, cacti are succulents. Horticulturists may also exclude other groups of plants, e. g. bromeliads, a practical, but unscientific, horticultural definition is a succulent plant is any desert plant that a succulent plant collector wishes to grow. Such plants less often include geophytes but do include plants with a caudex, which is a swollen above-ground organ at soil level, formed from a stem, a further difficulty is that plants are not either succulent or non-succulent. Different sources may classify the same species differently, the storage of water often gives succulent plants a more swollen or fleshy appearance than other plants, a characteristic known as succulence. In addition to succulence, succulent plants variously have other water-saving features, high temperatures and low precipitation force plants to collect and store water to survive long dry periods. Some species of cactus can survive for months without rainfall, Succulents also occur as inhabitants of sea coasts and dry lakes, which are exposed to high levels of dissolved minerals that are deadly to many other plant species. Plant families and genera in which succulent species occur are listed below, the table below shows the number of succulent species found in some families, Succulents are very difficult to kill, and if properly potted require little maintenance to survive indoors. Succulents are very adaptable houseplants and will thrive in a range of indoor conditions, Succulents can be propagated by different means

20.
White Penitents
–
Confraternities of Penitents are Roman Catholic religious congregations, with statutes prescribing various penitential works. These may include fasting, the use of the discipline, the wearing of a hair shirt, by the mid 12th century lay individuals practicing penance in central and northern Italy had begun to join together in associations for mutual spiritual and material support. The converso was a layman who had made a conversion of life and was affiliated to an order as a lay brother. Penitents were those who adopted asceticism and they retained their personal property and worked to support themselves. By 1210 some had, with assistance, composed rules or forms of life. These rules generally proscribed blasphemy, gambling, haunting taverns, in 1227 Pope Gergory IX recognized and approved canonical status for groups he called Brothers and Sisters of Penance. They observed the tradition fast of Wednesday and Saturday and St. Martins Lent and this involved avoiding meat and dairy, and eating one meal a day, usually in the early afternoon. Those who could not fast were to provide food for a person for each day they themselves were dispensed from fasting. Common penitential life and mutual fraternity gave the members their common identity, most penitent confraternities took up some charitable activity. Around 1230, Florentine penitents established the Santa Maria Novella hospital, over time, acts of charity began to replace the practice of self-flagellation. The Confraternity of Saint Lazarus in Marseille was founded in 1550, penitential confraternities developed in Italy and had spread to France by the end of the fifteenth century. The penitential confraternities were a typical of southern France. In the sixteenth century they were established in the French cities, and by the seventeenth had gained momentum in rural area, a degree of tension developed between the confraternities and the bishops as some members attended Mass in the confraternity chapel rather than the parish church. Some confraternities had their own chaplain, and even non-members would attend the shorter masses, curés would complain that the penitents were conducting a parallel religious cult separate and in competition with the parish. The penitents used the baroque spirituality of the Counter-Reformation, with its taste for display and collective activities, as an expression of religious devotion. Their torch lit processions presented an alternative focus for religious life in the parish and this consisted of a heavy robe confined with a girdle, with a pointed hood concealing the face, the openings for the eyes permitting the wearer to see without being recognized. The most important group of white penitents is the Archconfraternity of the Gonfalone, St. Bonaventure, at that time Inquisitor-general of the Holy Office, prescribed the rules, and the white habit, with the name Recommendati B. V. M. The headquarters were moved to the Church of Santa Lucia del Gonfalone

21.
Medieval
–
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired later in the Middle Ages. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the later 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy, heresy, and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period. Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and later argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date. English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period

22.
Tourism
–
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business, also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. Tourism may be international, or within the travellers country, Tourism can be domestic or international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a countrys balance of payments. Today, tourism is a source of income for many countries. International tourism receipts grew to US$1.03 trillion in 2011, the ITB Berlin is the worlds leading tourism trade fair. The word tourist was used by 1772 and tourism by 1811. It is formed from the tour, which is derived from Old English turian, from Old French torner, from Latin tornare, to turn on a lathe. Tourism is an important, even vital, source of income for many regions and it also creates opportunities for employment in the service sector of the economy associated with tourism. This is in addition to goods bought by tourists, including souvenirs, in 1936, the League of Nations defined a foreign tourist as someone traveling abroad for at least twenty-four hours. Its successor, the United Nations, amended this definition in 1945 and it includes movements for all purposes. In 1981, the International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism defined tourism in terms of particular activities chosen and undertaken outside the home, in this context, travel has a similar definition to tourism, but implies a more purposeful journey. The terms tourism and tourist are sometimes used pejoratively, to imply a shallow interest in the cultures or locations visited, by contrast, traveler is often used as a sign of distinction. The sociology of tourism has studied the values underpinning these distinctions. International tourist arrivals reached 1.035 billion in 2012, up from over 996 million in 2011, the World Tourism Organization reports the following ten destinations as the most visited in terms of the number of international travellers in 2016. International tourism receipts grew to US$1.2 trillion in 2014, based upon air traffic, the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index reports the following cities as the top ten most popular destinations of international tourism worldwide. MasterCard reports the following cities as the top ten biggest earners on international tourism worldwide in 2015, as early as Shulgi, however, kings praised themselves for protecting roads and building waystations for travelers. During the Roman Republic, spas and coastal resorts such as Baiae were popular among the rich, pausanias wrote his Description of Greece in the 2nd century AD. In ancient China, nobles sometimes made a point of visiting Mount Tai and, on occasion, the Islamic hajj is still central to its faith and Chaucers Canterbury Tales and Wu Chengens Journey to the West remain classics of English and Chinese literature. The 10th- to 13th-century Song dynasty also saw secular travel writers such as Su Shi, under the Ming, Xu Xiake continued the practice

23.
Phoenix (mythology)
–
In Greek mythology, a phoenix is a long-lived bird that is cyclically regenerated or reborn. Associated with the Sun, a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor. According to some sources, the dies in a show of flames and combustion, although there are other sources that claim that the legendary bird dies. According to some texts, the phoenix could live over 1,400 years before rebirth. Herodotus, Lucan, Pliny the Elder, Pope Clement I, Lactantius, Ovid, the modern English noun phoenix derives from Middle English phenix, itself from Old English fēnix. Old English fēnix was borrowed from Medieval Latin phenix, which is derived from Classical Latin phoenīx, the Classical Latin phoenīx represents Greek φοῖνιξ phoinīx. In ancient Greece and Rome, the bird, φοῖνιξ, was associated with the similar-sounding Phoenicia. A late antique etymology offered by the 6th- and 7th-century CE archbishop Isidore of Seville accordingly derives the name of the phoenix from its allegedly purple-red hue. Because the costly purple dye from Phoenicia was associated with the classes in antiquity and, later, with royalty. Classical discourse on the subject of the points to a potential origin of the phoenix in Ancient Egypt. However, the Egyptian sources regarding the bennu are often problematic, some of these sources may have actually been influenced by Greek notions of the phoenix, rather than the other way around. Herodotus, writing in the 5th century BC, gives a somewhat skeptical account of the phoenix, have another sacred bird called the phoenix which I myself have never seen. Indeed it is a rarity, even in Egypt, only coming there once in five hundred years. Its size and appearance, if it is like the pictures, are as follow, - The plumage is partly red, partly golden, while the general make, such is the story they tell of the doings of this bird. The phoenix is sometimes pictured in ancient and medieval literature and medieval art as endowed with a nimbus, in the oldest images of phoenixes on record these nimbuses often have seven rays, like Helios. Pliny the Elder also describes the bird as having a crest of feathers on its head, although the phoenix was generally believed to be colorful and vibrant, there is no clear consensus about its coloration. Tacitus claims that its made it stand out from all other birds. Some thought that the bird had peacock-like coloring, and Herodotuss claim of red, scholars have observed analogues to the phoenix in a variety of cultures

Phoenix (mythology)
–
A phoenix depicted in a book of legendary creatures by FJ Bertuch (1747–1822).

24.
Aspremont, Alpes-Maritimes
–
Aspremont is a French commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region of south-eastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Aspremontois or Aspremontoises, Aspremont is located some 10 km north of Nice and 5 km east of Carros. Access to the commune is by road M414 from Nice in the south, by the M14 road from Saint-Blaise in the north, and by the M719 from Tourrette-Levens in the east. Apart from the village there are the towns of Les Salettes, La Plaine, La Valliere, and La Prairie near the village and Les Templiers, Bassac, Cabanes Bletonnieres, the commune is rugged and heavily forested in the west and east. The Magnan river rises near the village and flows south through the heart of the commune then to the Mediterranean sea in the south-west of Nice, soil and sunshine favoured the cultivation of vines, olives, and fruit trees, particularly fig trees. There was production of wine and olive oil in the county until the end of the 19th century, in 1874 Aspremont had its land area divided to create the new communes of Colomars and Castagniers. List of Successive Mayors In 2010 the commune had 2,187 inhabitants, the evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held five years. Magma, a group, has had a recording studio in the commune since 2010

25.
Coaraze
–
Coaraze is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region in southeastern France. Coaraze is a village in the Nice hinterland, in the valley of the River Paillon. The closest town is Contes,8 km away, the village itself is built on a sandstone mount at the foot of Mount Férion. Erected as a baronnie in 1629, Coaraze was under Spanish administration from 1744 to 1748, in the nineteenth century the old trail was replaced by a road. Coaraze is one of thirteen villages grouped together by the Communauté dagglomération de Nice-Côte dAzur tourist department as the Route des Villages Perchés. The others are, Aspremont, Castagniers, Colomars, Duranus, Èze, Falicon, La Gaude, La Roquette, Levens, Saint-Blaise, Saint-Jeannet, Coaraze is a member of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association. Jean Cocteau Jules Engel Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department INSEE

Coaraze
–
An overall view of the village of Coaraze

26.
Colomars
–
Colomars is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes département in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region in southeastern France. Inhabitants of Colomars are called Colomarsois, Colomars is a part of the Pays Niçois. Colomars is an area, located in a valley between Var to the west and Mont Chauve to the east. There are many pines and olive trees in the centre of the village, the fortress in Colomars was built in 1880 and the Sirole chapel was inaugurated in 1857. Colomars was founded in 1070 by the monastery of Saint-Pons for the children of Raimbaud de Nice, a decree signed on 2 June 1874 by Maréchal de Mac Mahon separated Colomars, Aspremont and Castagniers into three separate villages. The municipality has celebrated 125 years of age on 19 September 1999, the current mayor of Colomars is Isabelle Brès, since March 2008. Colomars is one of thirteen villages grouped together by the Communauté dagglomération de Nice-Côte dAzur tourist department as the Route des Villages Perchés. The others are, Aspremont, Castagniers, Coaraze, Duranus, Èze, Falicon, La Gaude, La Roquette, Levens, Saint-Blaise, Saint-Jeannet and Tourrette-Levens. Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department INSEE Official site Colomars at the Quid site Neighbouring villages of Colomars Location of Colomars on a map of France

Colomars
–
A view of the church of Colomars, from the road to Nice

27.
La Gaude
–
La Gaude is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. To the south of the village, a restored Roman stele is close to the Aurelian Way, after the Saracen attacks in the ninth century, the inhabitants of the nearby and higher village of Saint-Jeannet descended to the more fertile and less rugged La Gaude area. La Gauda is mentioned in 1075, soon the village was burned for having converted to the Cathar heresy. When the frontier became the nearby River Var, the village was again destroyed, the village was affected by the plague in the fifteenth century and abandoned until the late sixteenth century. La Gaude became an independent community in 1599, separating from Saint Jeannet, looting took place in 1704 and for five days in 1707. In the twentieth century, La Gaude was transformed by the arrival of piped water. The Provençal writer, Marcel Pagnol, was captivated by the village, writing, I will be back in a fortnight and will rush to place to admire your barbaric flowers. He bought a property in the village, the domaine de lÉtoile, IBM established a research centre in La Gaude in the 1960s. Perched Villages, La Gaude is one of thirteen villages grouped together by the Communauté dagglomération de Nice-Côte dAzur tourist department as the Route des Villages Perchés. The others are, Aspremont, Castagniers, Coaraze, Colomars, Duranus, Èze, Falicon, La Roquette, Levens, Saint-Blaise, Saint-Jeannet and Tourrette-Levens. Eco-musée Vivant de Provence, Founded by the Danish entomologist and filmmaker Ib Schmedes, chapelle Saint-Ange, Construction of the chapel, dedicated to Saint-Bernardin, was begun in 1844, left until 1873 and completed in 1875. Its last religious service took place in 1913 and it fell into ruin until repaired in 1927. From 1949 to 1960 it was used as a cinema, the chapel was restored between 1996 and 2003 by the painter-sculptor Alexis Obolensky and the master glassblower Alain Peinado. Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department INSEE Official website

La Gaude
–
The church of La Gaude

28.
Levens
–
Levens is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes département in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region in southeastern France. It lies in the center of the district, which stretches from the plain of the Var to the Férion range, mount Férion is 1,400 metres high. Before the Christian era, the first inhabitants mentioned in history are called the Lépontiens, the name Léponti became Leventi under the Romans, then Leventio in the Middle Ages, Levenzo during the Italian era, to become the current Levens. Romans chose the Prés quarter, one of the most beautiful in the district and they constructed a cobbled mule track going from Cimiez to Saint-Martin-Lantosque crossing through Levens. In 407, Leventi suffered badly from the invasion of the County of Nice by a 200, the present village is constructed around the old feudal castle erected by the counts of Provence after the collapse of the Roman Empire. The dedication act was signed on 28 September 1388, in front of the Saint-Pons monastery, a plague epidemic in 1467 devastated much of the countys population. Convicted of treason, John II was condemned to banishment and seizure of his goods, by an act dated 22 October 1550, the inhabitants of Leventio purchased directly from their Savoyard overlord the flour mills and deficis for 1,200 gold Italian crowns. The parish church received imposing alteration works between 1610 and 1615, annibal Grimaldi, Count of Beuil and governor of County of Nice, maintained political relations with his French neighbours and was in favor of giving the county to France. The Duke of Savoy Charles Emmanuel then revoked Annibals command and ordered him, when they instead returned to their lands, Charles-Emmanuel considered them rebels. The Count of Beuil shut himself up in his castle of Tourettes-Revest and he was strangled to death on 9 January 1621. At the time of incidents between the overlord and his vassal, the lord of Levens was César Grimaldi. The day after, the Duke of Savoy favourably accepted a letter from the Levensans, in return, Charles-Emmanuel granted a charter of liberty to Levens which became comtesse delle-même. On 16 October 1622, the order was given to destroy the surrounding the castle. During the dark years of the Revolutionary period, Levens, along with the whole County, suffered many violent acts of the French occupying army, on 29 September 1792, General dAnselme entered the city of Nice. On 17 October 1792, the 1,150 soldiers commanded by Brigadier Paul de Barral seized Levens, then marched toward Duranus and Lantosque. The future Marshal of France André Masséna, born in Nice and brought up in the Siga, Levens is one of thirteen villages grouped together by the Communauté dagglomération de Nice-Côte dAzur tourist department as the Route des Villages Perchés. The others are, Aspremont, Castagniers, Coaraze, Colomars, Duranus, Èze, Falicon, La Gaude, La Roquette, Saint-Blaise, Saint-Jeannet and Tourrette-Levens. The peira tourgnola is a vertical stone several meters high, topped with a second block measuring about 1 meter high, situated on the path to Albarea, near the fork in the path to Coumba

Levens
–
The village of Levens, seen from the west with the Cime du Gélas in the background

29.
Amirat
–
Amirat is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. This little village is made up of three quarters, The Agots, with the church and the hostel, Amirat village, where the mayors office is located. Maupoil, location of the 16th century Saint Jeannets Chapel, Amirat had the fourth highest percentage of people who voted for Jean-Marie Le Pen of all French communes during the second round of voting in 2002 -59. 26%. The current mayor is Yvon Michel of the UMP, who was elected in 2005, the communes inhabitants are known as Amiratois. A well known Iyengar yoga instructor, Charles Cartmell, is an Amirat resident, Saint Jeannets Chapel, a 16th-century chapel with lovely wooden gate in Maupoil. Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department INSEE Official site

Amirat
–
The town hall of Amirat

30.
Andon, Alpes-Maritimes
–
Andon is a French commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region of southeastern France. Andon is a home for many coastal residents and for people attracted by the peace and beauty of the area. The ski resort of Audibergue is in Andon commune, the Loup has its source nearby. The village is accessible via the D79 which branches west from the D5 road passing through the village, the D2 road also passes through the north of the commune from Valderoure in the west to Greolieres in the east. The No.400 route of the Sillages Transport Association serves the town from Monday to Friday on request and No.410 route, the climate of the region is Alpine with Mediterranean influences. Winters are cold with warm summers and sunny with cool nights, the rest of the year is rather cool with frosts possible from October to May. The site of Andon village has been occupied since 1000 BC, there are traces of the presence of Ligures in an entrenched camp called Castellaras de la Selle dAndon. This site was occupied by the Romans. Milestones have been found indicating the Via Vintiana connecting Séranon to Gréolières with the names of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and the procurator Julius Honoratus. There are traces of Roman presence at multiple sites in the commune at, la Selle de Caille, la ferme du château, la Moulière, les Teilles, la Selle dAndon, la Baisse, at Collet de la Serre in the castellaras a small necropolis was found. The ruins of a large Roman tomb have been identified near the priory of Clos de Bourges, the village of Andon succeeded a former village which was perched on the Col de Castellaras and whose remains date to the 13th century. It was abandoned after a fire in the 18th century, the village was then rebuilt at the current location. The Count of Provence gave the lordship of Andon to Romée de Villeneuve in 1230, the lordship then passed to the family of Grasse-Bar, then to Russan then Théas. On the eve of the Revolution it belonged, with Thorenc, to Mr. de Fanton, the death of Queen Joanna I of Naples created a crisis of succession for the head of the County of Provence. The cities of the Union of Aix supported Charles of Duras against Louis I of Anjou, the Lord of Andon, Florent de Castellane, endorsed the Angevins in 1385 after the death of Louis I. Canaux appears in texts in 1251, in 1421, the Countess of Provence gave this lordship to Bertrand de Grasse. The original village was located 1 km to the west, in 1623, the Bishop of Grasse dared not climb to Canaux as we are assured that the road is rough and bad. Thorenc is mentioned in texts from 1200 under the name castrum de Torenc or Torenc, the village was originally a lordship of Grasse, then of Boniface de Castellane before depending the Count of Provence in 1235 who passed it to Romée de Villeneuve

Andon, Alpes-Maritimes
–
Town hall
Andon, Alpes-Maritimes
Andon, Alpes-Maritimes
–
Victorin Bonhomme Square at the centre of the village and the church
Andon, Alpes-Maritimes
–
The ramparts of Castellaras de Thorenc

31.
Ascros
–
Ascros is a French commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region of south-eastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Ascrossois or Ascrossoises, Ascros is an alpine commune located some 45 km north-west of Nice and 15 km east by south-east of Puget-Théniers. Access to the commune is by the D27 road from Toudon in the south-east passing through the heart of the commune, the D427 road branches off the D27 in the commune and goes south-west to join the D17 road which goes to Sigale in the south. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of Rourebel, Les Chats, the commune is very rugged and alpine in nature with large forests. The commune name in Occitan is Als Cros and in Italian Ascroso, many ancient remains have been found in the commune including tombs dating from the Bronze Age and from Antiquity. The village is cited under the name of Castrum de Crocis in 1066 and its current name of Ascros was adopted in 1760. The origin of the name is the Low Latin crosus meaning depression, the current village is located at an altitude of 1,145 metres above sea level in a defensive site. In 1252 Raibaud dAscros, Lord of Ascros or of Crocquio, the commune is a former fief of the barons then the counts of Beuil. They were then summoned to come and explain to the Governor of Nice, on 5 January 1508 in his chateau at Beuil his barber, Esprit Testoris, slit his throat, possibly paid by the Governor of Nice. The County of Beuil then reverted to his brother, Honoré. Honoré I of Beuil, friend of Charles III, Duke of Savoy, was appointed Governor of Nice, in revenge the two brothers laid siege to the chateau of Gilette where the Lord of Les Ferres was but who managed to escape. The Governor of Nice, having seen the troubles that the Duke had made and their father had to seek clemency from the Duke for them, which was obtained by an act of 6 December 1529 after the Paix des Dames or Treaty of Cambrai. Meanwhile, the Lord of Les Ferres retaliated by attacking Rigaud in 1528, rené returned to the county and was murdered in his sleep by one of his servants who was paid by his opponents. Jean-Baptiste then intrigued with France and decided to war against the Duke of Savoy. Jean-Baptiste Grimaldi of Beuil was killed in 1544 at the Battle of Cérisoles fighting for the King of France, the revolt of Annibal Grimaldi brought about his conviction and execution in 1621 and, the chateau was destroyed by order of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy. The fief of Ascros was given to one Galléan then went to the Caissoti family who were Lords of Roubion who also owned the lordship of Toudon, in 1793, during the Battle of Gilette,300 men camped in the village. Apart from the cultivation of cereals, the village also lived on the raising of sheep. Some people also operated small mines and quarries in the late 19th century, during the Second World War the village provided refuge for Jews but a raid led to three arrests

Ascros
–
The village of Ascros
Ascros
–
View of Ascos coming from Toudon

32.
Auribeau-sur-Siagne
–
Auribeau-sur-Siagne is a French commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region of south-eastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Auribélois or Auribéloises, Auribeau-sur-Siagne is a medieval village dating from the 11th century located some 10 km north-west of Cannes and 6 km south-west of Grasse. Perched on a spur, the village overlooks the Siagne river. Access to the commune is by road D9 from Pégomas in the south-east which passes north through the part of the commune. The village, which is in the south of the commune, is accessed by local roads, the commune is served by the Sillages bus network Route 29 that has nine trips per day on weekdays. There are extensive residential areas in the commune with the areas of Le Gabre, Les Vayoux, Le Moulin Vieux, Carel. The rest of the commune is forested with a few patches of farmland. The Siagne river forms the border of the commune with several tributaries flowing south through the commune to join it. Auribeau is one of the hilltop villages in Alpes-Maritimes built to enable the population to protect themselves against external aggressors. The earliest traces of occupation are an Oppidum located at the top of mount Peygros. At Mandelieu a secondary road split off to follow the Siagne up to Auribeau, in an act of 1158, the pope confirmed ownership by the Bishops of Antibes of the fields and tithes of the churches of Auribeau, Pégomas, Notre-Dame-de-Valcluse and Mouans. A text from 1242 reads Auribeau church and castle which indicates that the village existed at that time, the population of the village was decimated in the middle of the 14th century in the wake of war and the Black Plague. The raids by Raymond de Turenne continued to devastate the region until 1399, a text from 1400 describes the place as deserted, castle completely destroyed near the church of Our Lady which is now open to the skies and partially destroyed. In an agreement dated 5 June 1497 the Bishop of Grasse, Jean-André Grimaldi requested the people of the dioceses of Albenga, therefore, the village that we see today dates from the 16th century. The church however, which is located outside the village walls, in the 16th century the Siagne river was navigable between Auribeau and Mandelieu and served as a transportation route. In 1692, commune residents opposed the requisitioning of workers to build the fortifications at Antibes, in 1707, during the War of Spanish Succession, the village was invaded and sacked by the French and Austro-Sardinian armies. In 1720 the Plague of Marseille led to the closure of the village, in 1765 Auribeau had 560 inhabitants. The number of inhabitants at the last census was between 2500 and 3499 so the number of members of the council is 23

Auribeau-sur-Siagne
–
View of the village from the Chemin de Pierrenchon
Auribeau-sur-Siagne
–
The Town Hall at Auribeau-sur-Siagne
Auribeau-sur-Siagne
–
The Old Village
Auribeau-sur-Siagne
–
The Altar of the Chapel

33.
Bairols
–
Bairols is a French commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region of south-eastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Bairolois or Bairoloises, the commune has been awarded two flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom. Bairols is located at an altitude of 830 metres on a ridge some 20 km north of Gilette and 5 km north of Villars-sur-Var. The commune is an alpine commune. The Tinée river forms the border of the commune as it flows south to join the Var. Many tributaries rise in the commune and flow east to join the Tinée including the Vallon du Serre, the Ruisseau de Fava, the Vallon du Bairols, the name Bairolum is cited around 1040. The village was given to Lérins Abbey then became a fief of the Grimaldi. The village was linked to the world by a motorable road in 1939. There were still 257 inhabitants in 1858, list of Successive Mayors In 2010 the commune had 107 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held five years. Population Change Sources, Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 Ruins of a Chateau The Medieval Church of Sainte-Marguerite whose S form is due to the topography, inside there are two frescoes in the choir on the theme of the Baptism of Christ. The church has a painting by Jean Rocca of the Virgin of the Rosary, the church also contains a Group Sculpture on a Processional dais of Saint Marguerite and the Tarasque which is registered as an historical object. Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department Philippe de Beauchamp, The misunderstood High Country, isolated Villages and Hamlets of Alpes-Marities, p.81, éditions Serre, Nice,1989, ISBN 2-86410-131-9, p.159 Bairols on Lion1906 Bairols on the INSEE website INSEE

Bairols
–
A general view of the village
Bairols
–
The Town Hall
Bairols
–
View of the village from the heights
Bairols
–
The facade of the Church

34.
Breil-sur-Roya
–
Breil-sur-Roya is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Breil-sur-Roya is one of the towns on the route of the Train des Merveilles which runs between Nice and Cuneo in Italy, the GR52, part of the French Grande Randonnée walking trail network links the town to Gorges de Saorge and Vallon de Zouayne. Breil-sur-Roya is particularly known for trout fishing, the Roya river runs through town and is open to trout anglers from March to September. Part of the run is reserved for fly-fishing. Trout anglers share the river with rafters, another popular local sport, breil-sur-Roya is twinned with, Borgo San Dalmazzo, Italy Aléria, France Roya River Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department INSEE

Breil-sur-Roya
–
The tower of Cruella, in Breil-sur-Roya

35.
Cannes
–
Cannes is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune of France located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, the city is known for its association with the rich and famous, its luxury hotels and restaurants, and for several conferences. On 3 November 2011 it also played host to the G20 organisation of industrialised nations, by the 2nd century BC, the Ligurian Oxybii established a settlement here known as Aegitna. Historians are unsure what the name means, the area was a fishing village used as a port of call between the Lérins Islands. In 69 AD, it became the scene of violent conflict between the troops of Otho and Vitellius, in the 10th century, the town was known as Canua. The name may derive from canna, a reed, Canua was probably the site of a small Ligurian port, and later a Roman outpost on Le Suquet hill, suggested by Roman tombs discovered here. Le Suquet housed an 11th-century tower which overlooked swamps where the city now stands, most of the ancient activity, especially protection, was on the Lérins Islands and the history of Cannes is closely tied to the history of the islands. An attack by the Saracens in 891, who remained until the end of the 10th century, the insecurity of the Lérins islands forced the monks to settle on the mainland, at the Suquet. Construction of a castle in 1035 fortified the city by then known as Cannes, one took a century to build. Around 1530, Cannes detached from the monks who had controlled the city for hundreds of years, during the 18th century, both the Spanish and British tried to gain control of the Lérins Islands but were chased away by the French. The islands were controlled by many, such as Jean-Honoré Alziary. They had many different purposes, at the end of the 19th century, henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux bought land at the Croix des Gardes and constructed the villa Eleonore-Louise. His work to improve living conditions attracted the English aristocracy, who built winter residences. At the end of the 19th century, several railways were completed, in Cannes, projects such as the Boulevard Carnot and the rue dAntibes were carried out. After the closure of the Casino des Fleurs, an establishment was built for the rich winter clientele. This casino was demolished and replaced by the new Palace in 1979, in the 20th century, new luxury hotels such as the Carlton, Majestic, Martinez, and JW Marriott Cannes were built. The city was modernised with a centre, a post office. There were fewer British and German tourists after the First World War, winter tourism gave way to summer tourism and the summer casino at the Palm Beach was constructed

Cannes
–
The Promenade de la Croisette and the port
Cannes
–
Cannes seen from Spot Satellite
Cannes
–
Panorama of the waterfront
Cannes
–
Boulevard de la Croisette along the waterfront.

36.
Coursegoules
–
Coursegoules is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Its inhabitants are called the Coursegoulois, in 2010, the commune had 473 inhabitants. The historical population is available from censuses conducted there since 1793, numa Andoire, was a French football defender and a manager. He participated at the 1930 FIFA World Cup, but never gained any caps with the French football team, the singer Camille, in her album Ilo Veyou, dedicated her song Le Berger to Coursegoules. Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department INSEE Official site Coursegoules on the Quid site Neighboring communes Coursegoules on a map of France Coursegoules on Mapquest

Coursegoules
–
A general view of the village of Coursegoules
Coursegoules
–
End of day above Coursegoules

37.
Grasse
–
Grasse is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department, on the French Riviera. The town is considered the capital of perfume. It obtained two flowers in the Concours des villes et villages fleuris contest and was made Ville dArt et dHistoire, three perfume factories offer daily tours and demonstrations, which draw in many of the regions visitors. In addition to the perfumeries, Grasses other main attraction is the Cathedral, dedicated to Notre Dame du Puy, in the interior, are three works by Rubens and one by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, a French painter native of the town. Other sights include, Saracen Tower, standing at 30m, the first festival was on August 3-4,1946. Decorated floats drive through the town, with women in skimpy costumes on board. Garlands of jasmine decorate the center, and the fire department fills a fire truck with jasmine-infused water to spray on the crowds. There are also fireworks, free parties, folk music groups, there is also an annual international exhibition of roses held in May each year. The Gare de Grasse railway station offers connections with Cannes, Nice, Grasse is the centre of the French perfume industry and is known as the worlds perfume capital. Many noses are trained or have spent time in Grasse to distinguish over 2,000 kinds of scent, Grasse produces over two-thirds of Frances natural aromas. This industry turns over more than 600 million euros a year, Grasses particular microclimate encouraged the flower farming industry. It is warm and sufficiently inland to be sheltered from the sea air, there is an abundance of water, thanks to its situation in the hills and the 1860 construction of the Siagne canal for irrigation purposes. The town is 350 m above sea level and 20 km from the Coast, jasmine, a key ingredient of many perfumes, was brought to southern France by the Moors in the 16th century. Twenty-seven tonnes of jasmine are now harvested in Grasse annually, there are numerous old parfumeries in Grasse, such as Galimard, Molinard and Fragonard, each with tours and a museum. The trade in leather and tanning work developed during the twelfth century around the canal that runs through the city. This activity produced a strong unpleasant odor, at the time of the Renaissance perfume manufacturers began production of gloves, handbags and belt, to meet the new fashion from Italy with the entourage of Queen Catherine de Medici. The countryside around the city began to grow fields of flowers, in 1614, the king recognized the new corporation of glovers perfumers. In the middle of the century, the perfumery was experiencing a very important development

38.
Puget-Rostang
–
Puget-Rostang is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes département in southeastern France. The commune is traversed by the Cianavelle and the Raton River and it is located 70 km from Nice and 6 km from Puget-Théniers, seat of the canton. The climate is Mediterranean, but tempered by the 700 m altitude, winters are brisk, but with no snow. The village lies at the confluence of the Mairola and the Riou d’Auvare, the valley of the Mairola lies east and west and is dominated by the Mount Cimaillon, which was topped by a castle. Until the middle of the 19th century, the village raised just enough to feed itself, grain grew poorly in the rocky soil, and the vineyards only provided enough for family consumption. Each family had a few sheep and a couple of goats, the only notable product was prunes. Since that time, artisanal products have dominated the economy, an eco-museum featuring tools and implements attracts visitors to the region. Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department INSEE

Puget-Rostang
–
A view of the village from the St Catherine path

39.
Saint-Laurent-du-Var
–
Saint-Laurent-du-Var is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region on the French Riviera. The town was founded in the 11th century when a hospice was founded under Saint Lawrences protection, the main activity was to help passengers to cross the Var, which became a border between Kingdom of France and County of Nice in 1481. St. Laurent is the second-largest suburb of the city of Nice, after Cagnes-sur-Mer and it lies adjacent to it on the west side on the other side of the river Var. Nowadays, the town has developed much and its population has multiplied by ten in the last century. St. Laurent is located close to Nice Côte dAzur Airport, in the side of Var river. The town also has a harbour, an interchange on the motorway A8 and a railway station on the Marseille-Toulon-Nice-Ventimiglia line. Laurent du Var CAP3000 website

Saint-Laurent-du-Var
–
Town hall

40.
Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey
–
Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. It is located some 12 kilometres northwest of the famed perfume centre of Grasse on the D6085 highway, Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey and its surrounding area are rich in stone megaliths and Bronze Age relics, probably more than anywhere else in the South of France. The most impressive dolmen is called Verdoline, just south of the village, it may date from as early as 4500 BC, near this dolmen is the Druids Stone, a rock cylinder created by erosion. Along the roads from Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey toward Saint-Cézaire-sur-Siagne and going west into the valley of the Siagne River a number of ancient tumuli burial mounds many may be seen, Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey is home to the Riviera Cricket Club and Beausoleil Cricket Club. Route Napoléon Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department INSEE

Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey
–
Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey under snow, in February 2010

41.
Saorge
–
Saorge is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Highway E74 which runs north from Menton, passes through Saorge on its way to the Col de Tende where it crosses into Italy, the region belonged to the old County of Nice. Beginning in 1388 Saorge was part of Sardinia-Piedmont, in June 1793, Sardinia defeated the armies of the First French Republic in the First Battle of Saorgio. In the Second Battle of Saorgio in April 1794 the French wrested the town from the Piedmontese, the town was returned to Sardinia-Piedmont after the overthrow of Napoleon Bonaparte and finally ceded to France in 1860. In 1792 the announcement of the presence of French revolutionary troops at Saint-Laurent-du-Var caused a panic in Nice, the administration of the County of Nice along with several branches of the government fled from Nice to take shelter in Saorge on 18 September. At the same time, the Sardinian troops departed Nice without fighting the French, militia from Saorge and Fontan were recruited to fight the invading French troops. To access Saorge from the valley of the Vésubie Ruas, one must cross the pass at the Massif de lAuthion, the French troops were inexperienced and suffered the loss of 3,200 men. Brunet was later sentenced to death and executed, communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department INSEE & Chimes from County of Nice, tirignoun from Saorge

Saorge
–
A general view of the village

42.
Sospel
–
Sospel is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France near the Italian border and not far from Monte Carlo. The town dates back to the 5th century, when it served as an important staging post on the road from Nice to Turin. The old toll bridge used by travellers to cross the Bévéra, built in the 13th century and it was bombed by the Germans during World War II to prevent contact between the French Resistance and the Italians. Much of the town was destroyed, renovated after World War II it now houses the tourist office. Ruins of a tower, part of a château belonging to the counts of Provence, are all that remain of the 14th century city walls and it is one of the most retired and quietest corners of France, the most dreaded by revenue officers and by the Alpine hunters. But the road leads to it is one of the most beautiful in the world. Sospel is a setting in the 1977 mystery novel All Roads to Sospel by George Bellairs, list of medieval bridges in France Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department INSEE

Sospel
–
A view of Sospel, with the River Bévéra flowing beneath the old bridge

43.
Tourrettes-sur-Loup
–
Tourrettes-sur-Loup is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. This is a village situated near Vence. It features medieval and Romanesque buildings, situated 14 km from the Mediterranean coast, between Vence and Grasse, Tourrettes-sur-Loup is predominantly a tourist village however it does have a rich historical background. Tourrettes-sur-Loup has a small population of just over 2,400 residents. Inhabitants of the village are known as Tourrettans, Tourrettes-sur-Loup is a medieval village, perched on a rocky spur, situated on the southern slope of the Puy de Tourrettes. The slope of the land directly to the loup valley. The village is predominantly a tourist centre, the medieval village is well renowned for its arts and crafts such as weaving, painting, pottery jewelry and sculpture, all of which are created in the village by the residents. There are forty artisans all of whom live in the village, the local economy is based on, • The culture of violet • Confectionery, crystallized flowers, candied fruit, etc. 23% which, amongst the 193 most commonly taxed villages, ranks 53rd. • The chapel of St. John, Was restored in 2005 • Ear, A stone, ear-shaped construction about 40m long, the ear is no longer open to the public seeing as the city has recently authorized the building of a villa on the site. • La bastide aux violets, a dedicated to the violet flower which was opened on 6 March 2010. With fortified architectural qualities, the houses of ‘‘‘Tourrettes sur loup’’’form a general uphill structure creating ramparts, the houses are situated around a half moon circuit that forms the central route for the village. From Aix-en-Provence exit 47 Villeneuve-Loubet From Italy, Monaco or Nice exit 48 Cagnes-sur-Mer Follow the signs to Vence, the nearest station is Cagnes-sur-Mer,15 km from the village. The nearest airport is Nice Côte dAzur which is 21 km from the village, • boules, ‘‘Tourrettans’’ and tourists play boules in the ‘‘Place de la Liberation’’. • paragliding • hang-gliding • canyoning • climbing • fishing • horseriding • skiing, • beaches, The nearest beach is at Cagnes-sur-Mer which is just 14 km from the village. Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department INSEE Tourrettes-sur-Loup travel guide from Wikivoyage Virtual visit of Tourrettes-sur-Loup with fullscreen panoramas

Tourrettes-sur-Loup
–
A view of the village of Tourrettes-sur-Loup from the Quenières road

44.
La Turbie
–
La Turbie is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. La Turbie was famous in Roman times for the monument, the Trophy of Augustus. During the Middle Ages, the village was mainly under the dominion of the Republic of Genoa, dante wrote in his Divina Commedia that Turbia was the western limit of the Italian Liguria. Actually the local dialect is extinct, mainly after the 1860 inclusion of the Savoian County of Nice in France. On September 13,1982, Princess Grace de Monaco was killed here in a car accident. The commune formerly includes the communes of Beausoleil and Cap dAil, only the old main town, around the remaining structure of the Roman Trophy of Augustus, forms the current commune. The boundaries of La Turbie were formerly more extensive and included the territory now contained in the town of Beausoleil, formerly known as Haut-Monte-Carlo, the commune of La Turbie retains a smaller, common boundary with part of the Principality. La Turbie can be reached either from Cap dAil on the coast or the Grand Corniche, within the town is the Trophy of Augustus, also known as the Trophée des Alpes. A limestone outcrop above La Turbie is called the Tête de Chien, the association football club AS Monaco FC have had their training ground in La Turbie since 1981. The training center is located in an old quarry and has 2 natural grass pitches as well as an artificial turf small pitch, La Turbie is twinned with, Sarre, Aosta Valley, Italy Prince Albert II of Monaco has a property on the heights of Rocagel. Rudolf Nureyev had a residence there until 1993, La Turbie was one of the locations where the movie Ronin was filmed. Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department INSEE Official website Trophy of Augustus Trophy of Augustus, the inscription Original appearance of the Trophy of Augustus Discover La Turbie

45.
Valbonne
–
Valbonne is a commune near Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region in southeastern France. Valbonne means the valley in Provençal and translates to Vaubona in Occitan. The village is in the commune of Valbonne Sophia Antipolis, which consists of the village of Valbonne, Valbonne is situated in a basin, halfway along the Brague river. Many prehistoric artifacts such as Neolithic stone axes, funeral urns from the Bronze Age, the remains of an aqueduct constructed during Roman settlement in the 3rd century A. D. are also present in the area of Clausonne. In the High Middle Ages several neighbouring hamlets already existed, but the small, isolated valley of Valbonne was deserted. In 1199 the land was offered by the bishop of Antibes to the abbey of Prads who founded the abbey of St. Mary, at the time, this area was called Vallis Bona, meaning the good valley. Later, it known as Valbonne. Prads and Valbonne were two of the 15 abbeys and priories of the order of Chalais, an order of Dauphinois-Provençal monks. The order was created an earlier and was similar to the Cistercians. The poverty of these mountain-dwellers caused their disintegration and, in 1297 the abbot of Valbonne came under the authority of the abbey of St. Andrew of Villeneuve-les-Avignon. The bishop of Grasse refused to ratify the arrangement, and in 1303 offered St. Mary to the abbey of Lérins, in 1335 the Pope settled the question - he allocated St. Mary to Lérins. At the end of the Middle Ages war, drought and the Black Death of 1351 caused the flight of the inhabitants of the surrounding villages, and left the abbey and its environs deserted. In 1486, under Louis XI, Provence was legally incorporated into the French royal domain, the village now known as Valbonne was founded in 1519, by Augustin de Grimaldi, bishop of Grasse and abbot of Lérins. Augustin de Grimaldi commissioned the worker-monk Don Taxil to construct the village adjacent to the abbey to increase the value of the land, the aim was to use exclusively local labour to build a community that would lead to the repopulation of the region. This was accomplished by the importation of Italian artisans, to work the clay found in the villages of Vallauris. The village is laid out along a grid pattern, under the influence of Roman military camps, Arcades were added to the central square in the 17th century and it became known as la Place des Arcades. Originally, the grid consisted of ten streets crossing ten streets, the architectural plan of the village of Valbonne differs from that of many other villages located in the South of France which typically spiral around a hill. The construction took over a century, and the village remained relatively unchanged until the middle of the 20th century, in the last century, a surrounding municipality of Valbonne has been constructed around the ancient village

Valbonne
–
Main square
Valbonne
–
Church of Valbonne

46.
Vence
–
Vence is a commune set in the hills of the Alpes Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region in southeastern France between Nice and Antibes. The first known Bishop of Vence is Severus, bishop in 439, antoine Godeau, Bishop of Grasse, was named Bishop of Vence in 1638, the Holy See wished to unite the two dioceses. Meeting with opposition from the chapter and the clergy of Vence Godeau left Grasse in 1653, to remain Bishop of Vence, the diocese of Nice now unites the three former Dioceses of Nice, Grasse and Vence. Within the historic village, a walled village, there are numerous interesting sights and monuments. The Peyra Gate was remodelled in 1810, the fountain was rebuilt in 1822 replacing an older one dating from 1578. Nearby is an oak, donated by François I and planted in 1538, the castle is today the Fondation Émile Hugues, a modern and contemporary art museum. The cathedral was built in the 4th century on the site of a Roman temple, the stone of the western façade dates from 239. Another, on the right, was engraved in December 220, other stones in the external walls represent funerary dedications. Also on the side of the church, the Pierre du Tauroble evokes the cult of Cybele. A chapel in the cathedral has a mosaic by Marc Chagall, the rue des Portiques is a section of the old Roman road. Vence is famous for its water, which can be collected from numerous fountains in the town. Vence is twinned with the town of Stamford, Lincolnshire. D. H. Lawrence, writer, born in Eastwood, UK, the art museum is named after him. Jacques Morali, disco music author, born in Paris and buried in Vence

Vence
–
View of Vence. In the background, the Mediterranean Sea.
Vence
–
A pizzeria operated from the back of a van in the centre of Vence.

47.
Villefranche-sur-Mer
–
Villefranche-sur-Mer is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region on the French Riviera. Villefranche-sur-Mer adjoins the city of Nice to the east along Mont Boron, Mont Alban and Mont Vinaigrier, the town limits extend to the hills surrounding the bay climbing from sea level to an altitude of 520 m at Mont-Leuze, reflecting on land the features found offshore. The three Corniches or main roads linking Nice to Italy pass through Villefranche, the site of what is now Villefranche and surrounding Beaulieu-sur-Mer and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat has been settled since prehistoric times. Celto-ligurian tribes roamed the area and established farming communities on the surrounding hills, the Greeks and later the Romans used the natural harbour as a stop-over en route to the Greek settlements around the Western Mediterranean. After the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar, the Romans built an extension of the Via Aurelia, by the fall of the Carolingian Empire, the area was part of Lotharingia and later part of the County of Provence. In 1295, Charles II, Duke of Anjou, then Count of Provence, enticed the inhabitants of Montolivo, by charter, he established Villefranche as a free port, thus the name, granting tax privileges and port fee rights that lasted well into the 18th century. By 1388, East Provence became part of the Duchy of Savoy as a result of the succession to the heirless Queen Joan I of Naples. For the next 400 years, the known as the County of Nice was hotly disputed between the Holy Roman Empire to which Savoy was an ally and the French. In the late 17th century, the fell to the French but was returned to Savoy after the Peace of Utrecht. During the 18th century, the city lost some of its importance to the new harbour being built in Nice but remained a military. In 1744, a Franco-Spanish army under the Prince of Conti overran the Piedmontese regiments of Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia at the Fort of Mont Alban in the heights above the town. In 1793, the French returned to re-occupy Villefranche and the county of Nice remained part of the Napoleonic Empire until 1814 and it was returned to the Kingdom of Sardinia by the Congress of Vienna. In 1860, as a consequence of the Risorgimento, it was given to France by treaty following a plebiscite, by the late 19th century, it had become an important Russian Navy base and the Russians established an oceanographic laboratory in the old lazaret. The site was also the residence for royalties and wealthy visitors. Villefranches bay is notable for reaching a significant depth only a distance from shore. As a result, it has become an important port over the years, during the most recent years before 1966 the flagship of the Commander Sixth Fleet rotated between USS Springfield and USS Little Rock. Since the 1980s Villefranche has been used by cruise ships and it is the most visited cruise ship port of call in France. Villefranche is now part of the Urban community of Nice Côte dAzur, but Villefranches aging population, like elsewhere in the eastern part of the Alpes-Maritimes, is not being replaced by younger people at the same rate as in the rest of the département

48.
Villeneuve-Loubet
–
Villeneuve-Loubet (pronounced, is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region in southeastern France. It lies between Cagnes-sur-Mer and Antibes, at the mouth of the river Loup and it was created by the joining two old villages, the old village of Villeneuve inland and the village of Loubet on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It is at the time a seaside resort and part of the technopole of Sophia Antipolis. The writer and historian Jules Bertaut died in Villeneuve-Loubet, Villeneuve-Loubet was also the site of a battle in World War II when it was liberated by the First Special Service Force on August 26,1944. The tower of the castle was damaged by a shell fired by the US Navy, in 2006, the bodies of fourteen Germans who were killed during the fighting were discovered in a mass grave near the town by a local medical student. Saint Marc Church, The stained glasses have been realised by the artist painter Pier Lecolas in 2006, the commune is twinned with, Forlimpopoli, Italy Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department INSEE

Villeneuve-Loubet
–
The village overlooked by the Château de Villeneuve-Loubet

49.
Virtual International Authority File
–
The Virtual International Authority File is an international authority file. It is a joint project of national libraries and operated by the Online Computer Library Center. The project was initiated by the US Library of Congress, the German National Library, the National Library of France joined the project on October 5,2007. The project transitions to a service of the OCLC on April 4,2012, the aim is to link the national authority files to a single virtual authority file. In this file, identical records from the different data sets are linked together, a VIAF record receives a standard data number, contains the primary see and see also records from the original records, and refers to the original authority records. The data are available online and are available for research and data exchange. Reciprocal updating uses the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting protocol, the file numbers are also being added to Wikipedia biographical articles and are incorporated into Wikidata. VIAFs clustering algorithm is run every month, as more data are added from participating libraries, clusters of authority records may coalesce or split, leading to some fluctuation in the VIAF identifier of certain authority records

Virtual International Authority File
–
Screenshot 2012

50.
Integrated Authority File
–
The Integrated Authority File or GND is an international authority file for the organisation of personal names, subject headings and corporate bodies from catalogues. It is used mainly for documentation in libraries and increasingly also by archives, the GND is managed by the German National Library in cooperation with various regional library networks in German-speaking Europe and other partners. The GND falls under the Creative Commons Zero license, the GND specification provides a hierarchy of high-level entities and sub-classes, useful in library classification, and an approach to unambiguous identification of single elements. It also comprises an ontology intended for knowledge representation in the semantic web, available in the RDF format